Electric lighting apparatus for motor vehicles



192 Apnl H. c. PROCTER ELECTRIC LIGHTING APPARATUS FOR MOTOR VEHICLESFiled Sept. 16. 1925 [amen Zor 6 if'ypracl er .Ht orney' Patented Apr.5, 1927.

UNITED STATES HARRY CUMPSTY PROCTER, OF MANCHESTER, ENGLAND.

ELECTRIC LIGHTING nrrnnn'rus FOR MOTOR vEHI'cLEs.

Application filed September 16, 1926, Serial No. 135,905, and in GreatBritain May 26, 1925.

This invention relates to that kind of electric lighting apparatus formotor vehicles wherein a detector lamp bulb is provided on the dashboard or other place visible to the driver and is in an electric circuitcontrolled by electro-magnetic means provided in the rear or other lightcircuit and adapted to interru t the first named circuit untildeenergize by breakage of the rear or other light circuit for example byfailure of the rear or other light bulb.

The main object of my invention is to provide an improved constructionof apparatus.

I attain this object by the apparatus hereinafter described and claimedand for the purpose of description I refer to'the accompanying drawing,in which- Figure 1 is a front view of an apparatus in accordance with myinvention.

Figure 2 is a front view thereof with the cover removed.

Figure 3 is a side view thereof with the cover removed. a

Figure 4 is a rear view thereof.

Figure 5 is a diagrammatic view of an electric lighting circuit for therear light, the said circuit embodying the said apparatus.

Referring to Figures 1 to 4 of the'drawingp, the apparatus shown thereincomprises a ase '1 of insulating material having a projecting member 2of insulating material provided on it. A lamp holder 3having a metalbase piece 4 is mounted on the member 2 to receive the detector lamp,the holder 3 being adapted to receive an exactly similar lamp to thatemployed in the rear lamp holder 34, Figure 5. An electromagnetconsisting of wire coils 8, Figure 5, wound on a bobbin 5 having a core6 is attached to the base 1 by means of a strap 7, and a spring 9 isattached at one end to a metal post 10 provided on the base piece 4. Theother end of the spring 9 is provided with an armature 11 adapted to eacted on by the electro-magnet and an electric contact screw 12 ismounted on a bracket 13 which is attached to the base 1,

PATENT OFFICE; I

the rear of the base 1, the terminal15 being connected by a wire 18 tothe terminal 14,

the terminal 16 by a wire 1.9 to one end of" the coil 8 and by a wire 20to the plunger 21 of the lamp holder 3, and the terminal 17 by a wire 22to the other end of the coil.

The plunger 23 of the lamp holder 3 is con v nected by a wire 24 to themetal base piece 4 and thereby through the spring 9 to the armature 11.

A cover 36 has an aperture 25 for inserting and observing a lamp bulb inthe holder 3 and removing the said lamp bulb from the holder 3. Wherethe apparatus is intended to be applied to the dash board of a motorvehicle, a flange 26 may be provided on the cover 36 for convenientattachment.

Sunk lugs 27 are provided in the cover 36 t for attachment thereof tothe base 1 by means of screws 28. 4

Figure 5 illustrates the method of connecting the apparatus'to theelectric lighting switch and the rear lamp, those electrical connectionsexisting in the apparatus being shown in full lines and the externalconnections being shown in broken lines.

The ma1n,two-pole lighting switch 29 connected to the accumulator 30 ofthe vehicle through the rear lamp inserted in the holder 34, theelectro-magnet is ener ized and the armature 11 attracted to it t erebybreakmg Should the rear lamp fail, the armature 11 is immediatelyreleased and the circuit to the detector lamp is completed, which lampthen lights up. The detector lamp constitutes a spare which may at anytime be used to replace the rear lamp should another not be available atthe time, and another lamp be subsequently obtained to replace thedetector lamp. The apparatus thus serves the dual purpose of a detectorand a spare bulb carrier.

The detector lamp is only in use in the event of failure of the rearlamp and so, by this arrangement, there is substantially -no waste ofelectric energy and a lighting the circuit for the detector lamp.

failure is immediately indicated and easily corrected.

It will be appreciated that where lamp bulbs and holders of the screw-intype are used, the connecting wire 24 is dispensed with and the socketof the lamp holder makes the necessary connection between the one poleof the lamp bulb and the base piece 4.

I claim:

An electric lighting apparatus of the specified kind, comprising aninsulating base having an insulating projection, a lamp holdercontaining a spare rear light bulb and mounted on the said projection, acoil wound on a bobbin and attached to the said base, a core in the saidbobbin, an armature mounted on a spring arranged in direct electriccontact with the exterior of the lamp holder, a bracket mounted on thebase and nected to one end of the coil, 21 second of which iselectrically connected to the other end of the said coil'and to onecontact of the lamp holder, :1 third of which is electrically connectedto the said bracket and to the fourth terminal, the second contact ofthelamp holder being electrically connected to or forming a part of theexterior of the lamp holder.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification atManchester in the county of Lancaster, England, this 31st day of August1926..

HARRY CUMPSTY PROCTER.

